"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Power outage? What's an insignificant power outage? These ladies and gentlemen have been going about their appointed rounds since LONG before "electricity" and will be long after it. Bless the USPS!

We have an "Earthquake Phone," and have used it in several power outages. IMHO, everyone in California should have one.

We have the motorhome generator, which we can use at intervals to keep the fridge and freezer cold. The burners on our gas stove can work fine with a "log lighter".

One thing I am concerned about is that in a long long outage, our water may fail, because the wells are downhill from here, and the water company pipes it up to tanks which are above us. Consequently, we have a lot of water on-hand, and more in the motorhome.

IF we should ever have to be evacuated, our plan would be to use the motorhome to go to where-ever the designated emergency shelter might be, and stay there in the motorhome, with the dogs.

What is going on with other folks, in these fires, reminds us that there are yet things we need to do. Copying "important papers" onto a thumb drive is one thing. We can do that, and leave the device in the motorhome. And we do still need a battery-powered radio. We don't have one of those, at present.

Jeri - your motorhome will solve most of your problems! I agree that updating your "evacuation go bag(s)" is very important, but we, like most folks, filled them once and then just ignored them for years & years. Right now we have the contents spread all over our kitchen floor, in piles of "good - keep", "throw out", and "take to the Good Will (clothing which is - yay! - now 4-6 sizes larger than what fits me). Also of course a list of stuff we need to replace, or new things we have thought of to get. Without this current experience, we would not have done this, so a silver lining.

Jackie

BTW, my DH found a fabulous small, very very powerful, light weight very small flashlight which has a magnet at one end for hanging, and a clip, and is able to point in different directions. Also, it uses 3 triple A batteries, not some esoteric type. It is called "GF Thunder Light".

Jackie

Very good list Jackie, thanks for sharing. Water remains a problem even here in the east. When we lose electricity, our well is useless because it's 240 volts and our generator only produces 120.

Putting the temperature probe I use for cooking into the freezer is something I hadn't thought of.

The other thing, from hurricane days: a manual can opener.

Know that many of us are thinking of you and hoping for the best possible outcomes.

Good advice for anyone where power outages are a risk! Thanks for reminding me that I really need to pick up a corded phone and one of those weather radios.

We're all hoping these fires get put out quickly, and you guys stay safe.

This sounds like the crazy stuff that happens here during hurricanes when we lose power- sometimes a week or two.

We have had a generator for the last 10 yrs. It really has been a life saver.

For cheap and easy lighting you can get those solar garden lights, that are in stakes and put them outside during the day, then bring them in at night. They dont make a ton of light but enough to see your way around in the house at night. No worrying about candles or batteries.

I used to have a cool kinetic flashlight that one could shake and it charged itself. It lasted me years. I need to get another one.

I have a crank emergency weather radio. It also has batteries or can b plugged in.

It seems everyone needs to have permanent emergency plans these days no matter where one lives.

I know right, I don"t need a power generator yet, but maybe we should get one now before we do need one!

mjkjrobinson Remember, if you DO get one, that they need to be "exercised" regularly, and maintained, or they might not work at all, when needed.

So informative, thank you, Jackie!

We lose our water in any power outage. The utility delivers it halfway up the hill, and we must pump it the rest of the way. We get a slow trickle of whatever is currently in the tank which allows us to flush once a day for a couple of days. We go to the YMCA for showers and either eat canned food or eat out. A more widespread power outage would make this impossible, but we live on a hill and have unplanned power losses from time to time.

We have one of those electric/gas combination ranges. I had been thinking that it would be better to have all-gas, but since the thermostat would be electric, that is probably not an improvement. And oh yes, neither heater or air conditioner. Again, the thermostat doesn't work.

I am quite interested in reducing our energy usage and we have had solar panels for about a dozen years now, but even I thought that the no-gas regulation was seriously shortsighted.

My husband Tom does have a generator, but it is a pain in the neck to hook up, so we only do it if the power is out for a while. The freezer gets priority.

I sometimes lament the loss of a true landline (not the digital kind), but the assaults of telephone spammers have made them unendurable. I have set my cell phone up so that only people I know can reach me. Strangers can leave messages, but my phone won't ring, and spammers almost always hang up without leaving messages. It has returned sanity to my life. Tom is an amateur radio operator (which is why we have the generator) so we could be in contact that way.

I have a hand crank radio somewhere, but honestly I don't know where it is. I certainly would require daylight and a calm mood to find it.

Most people have at least one radio sitting in their garage.

We have a few oil lamps we use for light. Flashlights are for finding the lamps and the lighters.

I don't miss the oven during outages, but would be completely lost without the gas burners.

We have a wood burning fireplace if it gets chilly. Our bad outages tend to be from ice storms, which are not mid-winter events.

The only thing I'd like to run on a generator is the refrigerator. However, since generators do need maintenance, testing, etc. I've held out. Many of our neighbors need them to run sump pumps, so they aren't optional. Fortunately, we are altitudinally advantaged.

Old style copper wire landlines will work through practically anything. Unfortunately, once you hit fiber optics, the line's dead.

One thing I forgot, because we have had it set up for years, because we live in "earthquake country". That is to have:

1) a pair of sturdy shoes (I use clogs) right on the floor next to your bed, that you can slip on as you get out of bed. A robe if you need one, ditto.

2) a flashlight (small one is better, as it will fit into your pocket) which you make sure to keep working batteries in, right next to your bed, where you can find it in complete darkness.

These will allow you to move around and be able to find the rest of your safety equipment, or run out of the house if necessary, or whatever.

Jackie

Study shoes (or at least some solid soled slippers), a robe, and a flashlight by the bed are actually pretty good advice for everyone- earthquake, tornado, gas leak, etc. Who knows how long you could be standing outside or stuck in a basement waiting for things to blow over. Clogs sound perfect, Jacqueline! I've got two pairs of those slippers floating around my house that I should find tonight for this reason!

Mad-gallica, that's definitely a drawback to the new fiber optic! I knew there would be some downside to us in the boonies finally getting decent internet speeds! I've seen solar cell phone chargers, though I can't remember their price range - maybe it's time to find a decent brand and pick one up.

Jerijen, what is an Earthquake phone? Is it a Satellite Phone? We have no land lines here and it sounds like from Jacqueline’s experience we cannot rely on cellphone service. This has got me a little worried now.
Jacqueline, I saved this thread. This OT thread is so timely and it’s good to get someone’s direct experience.